


The (Seven) Ways People Missed You

by HoshisamaValmor (HannibalCatharsis)



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Character Study, Drabble, Dysfunctional Family, Hurt/Comfort, ish, ish ish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:27:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24724525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HannibalCatharsis/pseuds/HoshisamaValmor
Summary: Drabbles of each sibling regarding Klaus (now set during canon). For TwistedIllusions
Relationships: Klaus Hargreeves & The Hargreeves
Comments: 34
Kudos: 86





	1. 00.01

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TwistedIllusions](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwistedIllusions/gifts).



> This idea was suggested by TwistedIllusions. I'm sorry for the time it took.
> 
> Technically speaking, this is a sequel to my fic [The (Seven) Ways People See You](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22745155/chapters/54349252), but can be entirely read on its own. While the other fic took place years before the show's running time, these chapters are directly tied to the show's events. These takes are all on a much positive-r light towards Klaus. Each chapter has a sibling.
> 
> Disclaimer: I obviously do not own The Umbrella Academy.

Luther and Klaus had never got along.

Siblings sometimes don't. Luther had gathered that from some of his History studies, from the comic books he would read as a kid, even from seeing other kids interact amongst themselves when the Umbrella Academy made some sort of event. Amongst _seven_ siblings, it was only natural some of them wouldn't get along. It wasn't as if Klaus was the only brother he didn't get along with.

There was little room to wonder _why_ that felt like it had always been the case. Luther didn't feel the constant need to name specifics, specially as it was such a deep-seated feeling in his gut, but if he wanted to, he'd have more than enough and see them pile on top of each other. While it might be debatable who had done most visible harm to the other in their years growing up ('debatable' to other people, at least, not to him), Luther could only feel that his dismissive or more aggressive episodes with Klaus as kids and teenagers had all been perfectly reasonable considering Klaus' behaviors and lack of... no, _excess_ of everything.

All in all, Klaus was simply someone Luther didn't like in general, both as a teenager and as an adult, by every action and attitude and stand he could remember, and they simply happened to be brothers.

And so to have _him_ , of all people, show Luther compassion and support - _kindness_ \- was an understandable, and reasonable, shock. Not that Luther was fully aware of it at the moment, drunk as a skunk as he was, but it _was_ there.

When Luther's actions and attitudes and stands were all been proven utterly pointless, when he realized Dad had sent him to the Moon for nothing, Klaus was the one who stayed there to listen to him. The only sibling whose mere _idea_ of seeing him so completely broken didn't bother Luther as much; maybe because he didn't have to impress Klaus. Maybe because he didn't care what Klaus thought of him. Maybe because he didn't expect anything from Klaus. And yet Klaus stayed, not because of any of those reasons, but simply because he saw Luther was hurting.

Luther didn't exactly have enough experiences in his life to be consciously aware of the fact that people could be compassionate, much less that they could be compassionate even when they had no fathomable reason to be. Luther had never been kind to Klaus. God, he hadn't been kind not even _a minute_ before Klaus sat down next Luther. And he still did it anyway.

Luther didn't understand why. Maybe Klaus related to the feeling of hurting and of helplessness too much - but that was something Luther hadn't thought of either. Klaus seemed like the most carefree person in the world. Or maybe Klaus simply didn't like to see other people feel bad - but that too was something Luther hadn't thought of either, because Klaus seemed like the most aloof and inconsiderate person in the world. He didn't _have_ to do any of that - he had no fathomable reason why he'd want to try and help Luther feel better - and he did it anyway.

The notion that people who suffer may loathe the idea of others suffering in a similar way, or in any, was one Luther hadn't really considered before, or expected to see expressed in Klaus of all people.

Luther could not say that he liked Klaus, but he had seen that, undoubtedly, there was more to his brother as a person than he had ever bothered to see.

.


	2. 00.02

Diego had never been the best with words. Both literally and figuratively, he found other ways to get his point across, ways that felt better for him. Normally, it was through bitterness and brute force. And admittedly, while those might work against criminals, they were far from being the best ways to show care for loved ones.

When it came to Klaus, though, it was specially hard to take any other approach than 'rough love'.

Diego loved Klaus. He was his little brother. Diego wanted his brother to be well and happy. That didn't change the fact that he was an annoying little shit idiot who got on Diego's nerves by everything he did, every way he acted, and Diego wanted to just smack him across the head to push sense into it (and well, those were arguably the mandatory checkboxes for the _'sibling starter pack'_ ). But he still helped Klaus when he needed, still waited for him when he asked because, if not for anything else, that meant Diego could keep Klaus under supervision for those small moments, check how he was. They had spent _years_ without seeing each other, and Diego knew how much shit Klaus had done during those years. How much harm he had done to himself, to his body and his mind by literally burning and smoking or pushing and swallowing narcotics.

In all (begrudged) honesty, Diego and Klaus had similar ways of dealing with pain and problems, only they took entirely opposite roads to meet the same end. They both hid from actually facing the issues and ignored them out of fear, covering them up by more immediate distractions. Diego did it by using force, anger and physical tiredness. Klaus did it by escapism through drugs and alcohol and by keeping constant theatrical perfomances.

Needless to say, Diego much prefered his own method. He couldn't fight his thoughts on how Klaus' actions were, quite simply, just weakness.

Perhaps because of the last memories of their teenager years and the roughly matching ones from the past few days, in which Klaus seemed to hardly have changed and merely got worse on his childishness and aloofness, Diego forgot how much of a _performance_ everything really was. And not just for his siblings; no, Klaus did it for himself.

Seeing Klaus crying on that veterans' bar was like a reality punch that both shoved Diego's brotherly protective instinct to its peaks, and made him feel like the worst jerk on earth at the same time. And then just made him want to hit Klaus for trying so hard to make everyone forget the fact that he was hurting.

Maybe 'weakness' wasn't so much the best word to use, but 'vulnerable'. Klaus was vulnerable, and that was actually far from saying he was weak. It was as part of him as much as his kindness, his good spirits, his fears and his struggles. Maybe because most of his formative years had been forcefully shaped by someone else's method, pushed onto him like Diego wanted to push his own, Klaus simply didn't learn how to deal with his vulnerability in a healthy way. The surprising amount of pain that was now so clear under the cover of aloofness made Diego wish he just knew how to make it go away for good.

But Diego had never been the best with words. And so he did call Klaus' actions as weakness, and did hit him across the head, and did honestly try his best to help Klaus through the pain he was feeling, realizing that, once again, it was actually so similar to Diego's own.

.


	3. 00.03

Allison had never thought she'd miss Klaus so much.

Although a part of her wanted to say she seldom thought of her siblings, the truth was she caught herself remembering them often, and through Claire of all reasons. Not only through the superhero stories she'd tell her daughter, but also through little things of her growing up, an expression or an action or just episodes that made Allison think back and imagine her siblings appreciating. Klaus in particular was brought back fondly by several of Claire's goofier moments that either felt so familiar, or that she knew Klaus would find hilarious.

Thinking about Klaus felt like remembering an old and dear childhood friend that the years had slowly pushed away for different reasons, leaving the love and care mostly untouched but dislodging them from the current life she had. The truth was, Allison hadn't had any childhood friends except for her siblings, and none of them had exactly been the definition of best friend. Klaus would definitely come the closest to the concept, and Allison cherished it deeply. Her vision of it at least.

And yet, Vanya's book years back had been an unpleasant surprise in more ways than one, not least of all for the shamefully accurate insight she revealed on some of them. It almost dismystified the cloud of nostalgy that Allison might have added to some memories, specially when it came to both Vanya and Klaus, making her think that maybe, in Klaus' case, she had only seen what she wanted to see, and maybe the reason why they had grown apart in their later teeanger years had been because Allison just assumed Klaus was alright just... being himself. That things were just normal that way, and things would always be back to their normality - if that word ever applied to their family to begin with. Even after Five's disappearance and Ben's death proving that some things could _not_ return to how Allison wanted them to be, Klaus... was just Klaus. She knew he used drugs or alcohol as early as of thirteen to deal with his powers, and she knew _that_ could never be alright, but Klaus told her it was, acted like it was, he was just like himself, cheerful and mostly seemed in control, and Allison just... didn't care to see more.

And thus ignored things no friend ever would. By the time she might have considered and understood it better, they had all moved away and she didn't know where Klaus was, her life was a full tornado of excitement and responsabilities and she just kept those fond memories close, holding to what she wanted, seeing and remembering what she wanted about him.

Her destroyed marriage had been much more on her mind lately than her destroyed family, but with Dad's death, here they all were again, and how strange it all was. Seeing them again, seeing Klaus again, brought back that feeling of... he was the same. The same kind and silly and warm doofus little brother. So much had changed, and yet he was the same.

Yes, of course it was wishful thinking and nostalgy. She could see Klaus had just got out of rehab and wasn't breaking into Dad's office out of mournful son's grief, so that obviously meant things had _not_ been good at all. She knew this grown man in front of her was her brother, whom she cherished all those fond memories of, but the years that had passed by, and the different lives that happened throughout, were undeniable, were an invisible crevice between them.

But it was _Klaus,_ he was the same, his brokenness made it feel like things were alright, breached through that crevice like it was nothing and made it feel like it did when they were kids. And even Allison herself, despite realizing she didn't return it as warmly as she should have, was surprised how much she loved to be hugged by him again. All of it was... oddly reassuring. It felt like maybe they could recover _something_ of what they all used to have, as dysfunctionally glorious as it might have been.

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the time it took to update this. Although I didn't state it, I did intend to post 1 chapter per day at the beginning, and then things got complicated in real life. They are not by any means better, but I will try to write and post when I can. I won't keep a schedule at all, but I will try to do it when I can. Thanks for reading.


	4. 00.04

He always liked his bedroom. In that weird love/hate fashion.

It was both his hideout and isolation chamber, depending on the time of the day or mindset, and depending on whether or not he had already smashhammered into Vanya's abandoned bedroom and took the space for himself. The mismatchness not only didn't bother him, it was welcomed. He could be really himself here, finally, instead of just seeing a tiny square of cold nothing. His personality was splattered there and visible and clear and loud everywhere, on the walls and on the ceiling and on the floor, and that meant that... sometimes was very pleasant and trippy and the fairylights and mismatching crazed surreal decor were rad and the absolute best, and other times it was just incredibly depressing and haunting and uninviting.

And the abundancy of words scrabbled and scribbled on the walls was a very important part of it. It wasn't as creepy as it was helpful, actually, and he didn't do that to piss off Dad (though that was a really nice bonus and an incentive if he ever needed any). Seeing the words physically staring back at him made him feel relieved, both the silly and the instrospective, both the stuff that his brain clogged his mind with and the stuff the dead clogged his ears with. Questions he didn't know answers to, or angry and scared feelings poured out, or catching phrases he didn't even remember writing at all but that were there and saying _'hi, I'm here',_ made him feel relieved and understood, even when it didn't make any sense to anyone else, but specially when it made all the sense to him.

Klaus had no reason to like being home, but his bedroom was a little piece that was his, and _him_ , and he liked it.

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to [this post ](vyther15.tumblr.com/post/%20617426337039302656/%20behind-the-scenes-photos-of-klauss-room-things)


	5. 00.05

Five had never been particularly close to Klaus.

Or any of his siblings, for that matter. It felt like a cold statement, but in retrospect, it was undeniable.

When Five had got himself stuck in the future and thought about them, he remembered them all equally, overwhelmingly so. He couldn't think of any time he had been annoyed by them, or any quarrel that might have happened, or of ever wishing for anything else than to be with them again. He couldn't see himself without his siblings, or living without them, or even without Dad.

But, as time passed, of course he rationalized those fear and panic-induced thoughts. He missed his siblings and wanted to prevent them from dying on the apocalypse, stop all this from happening, but that didn't mean everything had always been as perfect as nostalgy and loneliness might paint. No, things were anything _but_ perfect.

Vanya's book had actually been a great grounding tool. As Delores put it, it was his window to the future years of his past, helping him gauge memories based on facts and not wistfulness. Even if it described Vanya's own personal view on events, Five found too much ressonance and felt both satisfied when seeing his analysis and assumptions on his siblings got proven right, as well as critically interested when they might've been off.

He hadn't imagined Ben would die so young, nor had he sincerely imagined that his own disappearence could have affected everyone like it apparently had. As for the rest, the facts covered by Vanya on the next handful of years she had knowledge of were expectable: Vanya herself feeling alienated and quickly moving her own way, Luther remaining the ultimate member of the Umbrella Academy out of being unable to move from his dynamic and his established role, Diego doing pretty much the opposite but for the same reasons, Allison fully using her powers and skills as the only means she felt could give her a nice life, and Klaus doing pretty much the opposite but for the same reasons. The teenagers he remembered apparently grew up to be frustrated and damaged adults in their own rights, like most normal adults really, with the added complications from their abnormal upbringings to turn things up a notch.

As he himself grew older, using both the book facts and his imagination, Five would frequently picture how his siblings would have been at his current age and put it to perspective paralleled to his own life: like, Luther at 26 being the same idiot with no real opinions of his own, while Five was happily committed to his wife Delores; Diego at 20 breaking skulls and ribs and tibias to release pressure, while Five had become fully adapted to survive out on cockroaches; Allison at 25 getting showered by press conferences and special guest appreances that made her feel good about herself, while Five recited quantum physics books to Delores; Klaus at 21 overdosing on drugs to escape his ghosts or getting locked up in jail for constant stealing, while Five scavaged for refuge to spend freezing night times or insects to survive another day; Vanya at 29 living an extra ordinary repetitive life without ever fully succeeding at anything, while Five lived an extraordinary repetitive life without ever fully succeeding at... oh, well, that one did match up somewhat.

By the time he had surpassed all their ages and continued to grow older and older than they ever got the chance to, Five stopped making those parallels. The physical and time gap between them became so long that, even if he knew they had become adults at some point, they were just _kids_ , babies with almost half his age. And honestly, they were all most likely pretty dumb, with their basic struggles and upbringing traumas while Five had to find ways to travel through time and stop the end of the world. They had nothing in common.

And by the time Five finally succeed into deserting the Commission and return to 2019, that feeling he had got was proven a fact. Nevermind that his body had rewinded back to his 13's, he was older than all of them and that _really_ showed. Reunited with his siblings, he confirmed they were nothing but naive dumb children, all of them. Despite what he himself might have guessed, decades in the apocalypse and then as a time traveler assassin hadn't really grant him patience, much less to deal with baby brothers who thought _he_ was the baby brother. Klaus trying to pull him back while Luther and Diego fought like idiots? What the hell was he thinking, that Five was a child that needed to be protected from harm?

Speaking of Klaus, because he really did get a cherry on top of the cake: admittedly, Five was surprised with him, but on both ends of the spectrum. While on one hand, Five was impressed with his ability to get things done, willing to use any unorthodox means to get what he wanted, on the other, Klaus was painstakingly annoying and the pure definition of an addict, only doing or caring for anything or anyone if it directly involved him getting paid or high. He was aware of the fact that Klaus didn't really have it easy up until his 13's, and clearly fell downhill from there on, but that didn't mean Five was any more willing to put up with him. To have _him_ be a voice of reason in any subject at all, but specially be a voice of reason when talking about Five being obsessed with the apocalypse, was a blow on his pride he didn't really like at all. It put them in the same place, rubbing the similarities in his face.

He was lectured by a _kid_ , for God's sake. And the damn kid was right. Maybe Five had to admit that the biggest surprise regarding Klaus was precisely that: for all his assumptions on his brother, there might be more to him than Five had thought.

.


	6. 00.06

Ben knew Klaus too well.

Being dead and having a brother who could talk with ghosts had its perks on improving communication.

"...and if Ben were here, he'd agree with me."

"No, I don't."

Cat hiss.

 _Improving communication_ did not mean improving agreement.

"Mom's broken," Ben pointed out after the newest jolly family meeting was over. He followed Klaus upstairs while this brother groaned and Ben could feel without even seeing how Klaus was rolling his eyes so far to the back his skull they took a moment to return to their place. "She needs to be shut down, or at least get repaired."

"Wow, that's so nice of you, Ben. Dad would be so damn proud, I can already _feel_ it even without having to try and call him."

"Charming," Ben retorted, wanting to smack Klaus across the head but not bothering to try. "And you just sided with Diego to piss off Luther, didn't you?"

"She's our Mom. Where's your empathy and gratitute?" Ben sighed and pressed his lips, but before he could feel as guilty as he should for the accusation, Klaus added: "And of course I'd never side with Luther on any of this. Not only is he wrong, he's a dick."

Sighing more heavily now, Ben stepped faster to reach Klaus, who closed the door of his bedroom loudly and on a whim. Naturally, it didn't keep Ben out.

"If she's really's somehow involved for Dad's death-"

"-we should give her a damn reward, not shut her off!" Klaus completed in his stead, a wide smile pushing on the dramatics on his face before he waved his hands as if to try and get rid of the frustration. "Luther's a dick, and you're being one too. She's our _Mom_. You don't just decide to turn her off like-"

"Mom won't die, Klaus, it's not like that, she'll just-"

"No, she won't die," Klaus cut him off again. "She doesn't die and turn into a ghost, she'll just be gone, like, _gone_ gone _._ I won't be able to see her or talk to her whether I like it or not and you know what? Ironically, I just realized I'd feel _better_ if Mom was a ghost because I'm used to that, I mean, look at you! But she won't. And that idea of just vanishing doesn't really appeal to me. If she does have some problem, then we fix it. Instead of being worried about talking with Hitler's-best-friend-Dad who'll only scold us to the end of the earth and beyond, he should be more worried about fixing Mom."

 _Because_ Ben knew Klaus too well, he knew that family was a particularly iffy issue for him (specially for him). They had always got along, but being dead added quite a bit of extra insight and inclusion in Klaus' life that wouldn't have happened otherwise. And Mom was an unquestionable and unproblematic subject. For all of them really; Ben too. Mom was always kind and supportive when Dad was cold and unyielding. Of course it was sad that she had some problem now, but-

"Think about it, Klaus," he tried again, but Klaus groaned loudly again.

"You are so damn annoying, Ben, for God's sake, go to your room."

"You know you can't ignore me."

"Ah! You of all people should know better than to test me."

"Klaus-"

"I'm gonna call Mom you know."

"Seriously?"

"Mom! Mom, Ben's being annoying!"

Ben heaved a big sigh, but he was similing for the silliness of it. Suddenly it felt like they were kids again, as if nothing had changed and they were all just back to their normal life - their distorted normality as it might be. Klaus did have a way to make it seem as though things were alright somehow, or that they could somehow return to how they were before, even if of course they weren't.

"You're such an idiot," Ben muttered through his own stupid smile.

"You know what? I'm gonna take a long damn bath and if you'd be so kind as to leave me alone and not be an ass for a bit, I'd love it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted this one to be a complete opposite of the other (Seven) fic, so it's focused on being silly rather than as serious as the other.
> 
> We're almost there! Man I wish I could finish this before season 2 starts


	7. 00.07

Vanya knew Klaus better than she probably should.

Considering they had never been particularly close, despite the fact their bedrooms were literally side by side while they lived in the Academy, Vanya knew her insight on him was mostly due to her own observations and conclusions rather than based on anything Klaus might have willingly shared with her. Which, of course, wasn't really wrong or inaccurate in and on itself; people tell a lot more about themselves through actions rather than words, revealing tunes without actually talking.

The two of them were pretty much opposites, as she was reminded and vaguely took mental note of during their first family reunion in years. Klaus threw himself to the empty spot beside her on the couch and the sight might have been interesting to behold: side by side, Vanya, modestly dressed and low, quiet and self conscious, not wanting to take too much space in the house she no longer belonged in (and arguably never did) or too much time of the people around her; and Klaus with his jacket and skirt (well, Allison's skirt), a glass of scotch and a cigarette, larger than life and fully comfortable with being himself in the house he loathed but had a place in.

Vanya was aware of the parallels. While she herself lived with a childhood imprint (arguably trauma) of being raised to be inconspicuous and told she wasn't good enough, she adapted accordingly. Klaus was the opposite. Faced with constant oppressive demands and belittlement, he simply stopped caring and did what he wanted.

Vanya admired that in him.

They were very different and probably wouldn't get along that much (Klaus _was_ too loud and lively and intense for her), but Vanya knew he was a good person who trauma (and in his case there was no arguing) had constantly hurt and clawed into but he insisted in being kind regardless. Yes, kind - he _was_ a drug addict and he stole and lied and had plenty of demons to deal with, no doubt, but his core was still the same vulnerable sweet kid who didn't like to see people feeling bad. Rather than feel contempt for others' suffering because he suffered so much, he felt atuned to it and tried his best to help people not feel like he did.

She saw that with _her_ when she was alone and locked in that horrible place again with no sound but her own, no one to hear her screams and cries, she couldn't hear any of her siblings' accusations, but she saw, she _felt_ through actions and not words, how Klaus tried to help her. How he didn't like to see her suffer, how he wanted it to stop. Despite of what she had done, the harm she had caused, he just didn't want to see other people feel as alone and hurt and scared as he so often did.

Vanya admired that in him.

But they were very different. Too bad she wasn't like him.

.

the end

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did it! Yay me.  
> I'm sorry for how these two last chapters were so rushed but they had to be, and I'm sorry for the amount of time this fic took to be finished.
> 
> I want to thank TwistedIllusions for the suggestion and patience, and I also want to thank everyone who read and faved/kudo'd, with special mention to the reviewers Trinaq and ObliqueOptimism :) 
> 
> Hope you liked it.
> 
> See you after season 2 :)


End file.
